Ludhiana, April 13
Parents of a newborn who died after normal delivery at a private hospital here last evening alleged negligence on the part of doctors. They held protest ‘dharna’ in front of the nursing home last night and continued it today.

Talking to the Ludhiana Tribune, Gurdeep Singh of the CRPF Colony at Dugri alleged, “I have two daughters. I brought my wife Kirandeep Kaur to the Jeewan Hospital at Haibowal yesterday.”

He added, “She delivered a boy through normal delivery under the supervision of gynaecologist Kiran Brar. But he did not cry. Paediatrician Ajay Jain, who was present, tried but failed.”

He further said, “The hospital authorities informed me. They asked me to immediately rush the newborn to a hospital near the Model Town, saying they had talked to doctors there.

“I requested them to provide me an ambulance or a personal vehicle so that I could reach there at the earliest, but the hospital authorities said their personal car had less diesel.

“Seeing no way out, I decided to take the newborn in my auto-rickshaw. After reaching the Aarti chowk, I saw that he was breathing. After reaching the Shastri Nagar, I saw a traffic jam on the road to the hospital.

“I stopped on one side of the road and rushed to the hospital on foot, carrying the newborn in my lap. On reaching there, doctors told me that he breathed his last about 10 minutes ago.

“Doctors made no effort to save the newborn and did not provide an ambulance. I complained at the DMCH police post. The police arrested Dr Prithpal Singh, whose wife was the proprietor of the hospital, released him in the morning.”

Today, Gurdeep, along with friends and relatives,
held a protest in front of the nursing home and demanded that it be closed immediately and case be registered against Dr Kiran Brar and Dr Prithpal Singh.

He said, “The hospital authorities referred the child to another private hospital far away, instead of the DMCH. The hospital suggested for treatment was about five kilometres away.”

Dr Kiran Brar said, “The delivery was normal after between five and six hours of labour. As the newborn did not cry, the paediatrician tried his best. He informed the attendants. I do not know who told the parents to take child to a distant hospital instead of the DMCH.”

Dr Ajay Jain said, “As the newborn did not cry, I tried my best to revive him, but the response was feeble. I tried to revive him through an endotrachial tube and artificial oxygen, but could not. I told the attendants. I have no idea who asked them to take the child to a distant hospital.”

When contacted, Dr Prithpal Singh refuted the allegations. He said, “I do not know who told them to take the newborn to a hospital far away. I was getting ready for a club when I was told that the newborn was serious and was to be taken to the Deep Hospital.”

He added, “My car had less diesel and so, did not wish to take a risk. It it might have stopped on the way. Gurdeep said he would take the newborn in his own auto-rickshaw.”

IMA meets Police Commissioner

Office-bearers of the Ludhiana branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) met Police Commissioner Ishwar Singh. Their president DP Arora said, “We requested him to keep a strict vigil at the hospital. As per the Punjab Protection of Medical Services Persons and Medicare Services Act, the police marks an inquiry to the Deputy Commissioner, who gets the probe conducted. The Police Commissioner assured us that as per Supreme Court guidelines, an FIR would not be registered till the doctor was found guilty in the inquiry report.”

Ludhiana, April 13
Buyers of shop-cum-offices and booth sites under the old Jail Road commercial scheme, being developed by the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA), are in a quandary.

On the one hand, the GLADA authorities have failed to provide basic amenities like water supply and sewerage, with debris lying all around and the greenbelts a shambles, and on the other, buyers are being told to pay non-construction fine (NCF).

In a representation, the Jail Road SCO and Property Owners Association has alleged that after selling booths and SCO sites at pockets I and II through auction, no development has taken place.

According to buyers, the GLADA authorities have failed to carry out internal development as public toilets shown in the site plan are nowhere to be seen, greenbelts are lying in a state of neglect, streetlights are non-functional and there is a garbage dump adjacent to the complex.

Other works are pavements, with floor tiles yet to be laid, parking lots which are yet to be metalled and iron grills are yet to be put up around the complex to regulate entry and exit.

Ludhiana, April 13
A government department occupying a portion on the second floor of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) building here has not paid the monthly rent of Rs 3,850 for the last 14 years.

The tenant has also been using water, sewerage and electricity without paying a penny for the last 32 years. The accumulated arrears of rent and user charges have gone up to Rs 31.39 lakh.

The audit report of the LIT for 2010-11, obtained under the Right to Information Act by Council of RTI Activists president Rohit Sabharwal and council general secretary Arvind Sharma, has revealed that auditors have regularly been pointing out this financial irregularity for several years, but LIT officials have still not woken up.

The audit wing has also brought the matter to the notice of the Director with the local government department of Punjab, but there has not been any response.

As per the report, the portion was given on rent to the canal lining division in December, 1980, on a monthly rent of Rs 3,850.

It has been pointed out in the report, “The department has not paid the rent from 1998-99. The arrears have now mounted to Rs 2,73,428.”

It has also been noted, “No payment of water, sewerage and electricity charges has been made from Day One. The amount till March 31, 2011, works out to be Rs 28,65,609.”

The report has rapped the LIT authorities for their failure to recover the outstanding rent and user charges.

The auditors have objected to power supply from the generator installed at the LIT office to the tenant during power failure.

The auditors have asked the LIT to initiate steps for the recovery of the dues and get the portion vacated.

Phillaur, April 13
A septuagenarian lost her life staving off a burglary attempt by some unidentified armed men, who broke into her house at Ladhar-Kalan in the Phillaur subdivision, last night.

The woman, identified as Pritam Kaur (71), wife of retired CRPF sub-inspector Baldev Singh, was killed by the robbers when she resisted their attempt to commit burglary.

It was learnt that the robbers entered the house by scaling the wall. The woman, who woke up on hearing the noise, raised an alarm.

She also caught hold of one of the robbers, but another fired upon her during the scuffle. She died on the spot.

At the time of the incident, her husband, son Balwinder Singh, daughter-in-law Satwinder Kaur, grandson and brother-in-law were at home. Her son, who also woke up on hearing the noise, called up their neighbour Jagtar Singh. By that time, the robber shot her.

It was learnt that the neighbour fired a shot from his licensed revolver to scare the robbers, who managed to flee.

A razor and a cap of the robbers, which fell while they were fleeing, were recovered from the spot. The police registered a case.

In a separate incident, unidentified armed miscreants snatched $100, £50, Rs 5,300 and gold earrings from sarpanch Surjit Singh and his wife Raj Kaur near Darapur village last night.

Ludhiana, April 13
In a sensational case of carjacking, three unidentified persons abducted an 81- year-old local businessman and fled with his car the from Ferozepur road here today.

The businessman, identified as Sant Singh, owner of Sant Footwear and resident of Sarabha
Nagar, was later thrown out of the moving vehicle at Ramgarh village, near Sidhwan Bet.

The abduction took place around 4 pm when Sant Singh, who was travelling in his Mahindra Logan, arrived at the Laxmi fuel station to get the tank of his vehicle
refuelled.

After the refuelling was done, Sant Singh’s driver Jaswinder Singh parked the car at a corner and went to the urinal.

In the meantime, three persons opened the car. Two persons overpowered Sant Singh and the third drove the vehicle
away.

Jaswinder Singh rushed out and raised an alarm. The fuel station authorities informed the police about the incident. Additional Deputy Commissioner of

Police (III) Kulwinder Singh and Additional Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Kaur reached the spot and sounded an alert. Teams were sent to search for the octogenarian. Worried relativesreached at the spot and asked the driver about the incident.

The fuel station authorities said the carjackers were captured on close-circuit television cameras. While the police was busy identifying suspects, Sant Singh called up a relative and said he was thrown out of the vehicle near Ramgarh village.

Police parties rushed to Ramgarh village. Sant Singh said the trio was carrying a weapon, but did not harm him. The trio told him that their motive was to steal the vehicle, he added. The police sent teams to Jagraon, Moga and Jalandhar to nab the suspects. Jaswinder Singh was detained for questioning.

Ludhiana, April 13
A tipsy industrialist, Amandeep Singh of the Model Town Extension, created drama last night and took the city police for a ride by claiming that his car was stolen.

He parked his car at the back of the Hot Millions restaurant on the Ferozepur road and went to a tavern near the Aarti chowk to consume liquor.

He said he owned an ice-cube manufacturing factory. Last night, he went to the tavern after a heated argument with his father.

The incident took place around 11:30 when Amandeep Singh came out the tavern and raised an alarm. He claimed that his car was stolen.

He informed his brother Sukhdeep Singh, who further called up the police helpline number 100 to report the car theft.

Police officials, including ACP Gurpreet Kaur and SHO Beant Juneja, reached the spot. An alert was sounded across the city.

Police teams set up ‘nakas’ at all the entry and exit points. The search operation continued for two hours and finally, the police located the vehicle. After midnight, Amandeep regained his senses and told the police that he parked his car at the back of a restaurant, but forgot the location after the consumption of alcohol.

“This is not done. The tipsy man has taken the police for a ride. He has been booked under Section 182 of the IPC for giving wrong information to the police,” Juneja said.

Ludhiana, April 13
Two teenagers drowned in the Sutlej here this afternoon. They were identified as Sunny (15) and Anil (17), residents of Jawahar Nagar, near the bus stand.

They went to pay obeisance on the occasion of Baisakhi when they drowned. According to an eyewitness, they swam far, where the water was deep, and were swept away with the current. Their relatives alleged that residents standing on the bank did nothing to save them.“They were screaming for help, but no one had the courage to help my son,” lamented Anil’s mother. Tragic scenes were witnessed at the houses of the victims. People visited the houses in the locality to condole the deaths. — TNS

Ludhiana
Schools celebrate Baisakhi: The festival of Baisakhi was celebrated at Green Land Convent School, Civil City. Cultural performances like bhangra and giddha and Baisakhi fair were organised. A variety of articles like phulkari, charkha, chhaj, chatti, madani, pakhi, chulha were displayed during the occasion. The children were dressed up in colourful Punjabi dresses.

Folk dance
The festival was also celebrated at Everest Play Way and Nursery School. The nursery wing of Everest Public School Moti Nagar. The students presented a bright and colourful programme on the occasion. They presented folk dances and folk songs traditional Punjabi dresses.

Orientation programme for parents
An orientation programme was organised at the KVM, City Campus, for the parents of the newcomers.

Ludhiana, April 13
Recently the Supreme Court of India upheld the Constitutional validity of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act (2009) and said that the law would apply all over India to all the government, local bodies and private unaided schools. As per the Act, all the schools covered under this law will now have to reserve in class I i.e. at nursery or at entry level at least 25 per cent seats for the children belonging to weaker sections.

Harmeet Kaur Waraich, director of Sahodya Shools Complex, said, "It is the district administration who is supposed to identify children belonging to weaker section where as Punjab State government has not issued any notification in this regard as of now to the private public schools."

The school authorities are quite confused about its implementation. Dr Vandna Shahi, principal of the BCM school, Dugri, said, "Only yesterday in the meeting of Sahodya Schools Comlex many issues were discussed. Implementation of the RTE Act was also one of the major issues. As we have not received any guidelines from the government in this regard, there is utter confusion about the implementation of the Act. We do not know as what is the yard stick to measure a person from weaker section."

However, Rajinder Sharma president association of the PSEB Affiliated Schools, Punjab said, "We welcome the decision. But all the unaided schools in Punjab do not get any aid from the government. So we request the state government to give us rebate for imparting free education to 25 per cent children from weaker section on the similar lines of Delhi government."

Ludhiana, April 13
Farmers can play an important role in the development of farm machinery as they know the best about their requirements, stated Dr US Shivhare, director of the Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) during the conclusion of the five-day training in post harvest technology for value addition under the Farmers' Technology Transfer Fund (FTTF) programme of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) here today.

After distributing certificates to the farmers, Dr Shivhare said that scientists had technical know-how for the development of machinery. But the farmers' involvement could help in development of more competitive and cost effective farm machinery, he said, adding that CIPHET would help farmers in customised development of machines according to their requirements.

Ludhiana, April 13
As the court has directed about making the Right to Education mandatory, the decision is drawing mixed reactions for different sections of society.

Although people from economically weaker sections (EWS) have welcomed the decision, some people from affluent families have shown reservations about the system.

"We get our children admitted to the best of schools, so that they get good company of children. But how would they mingle with children from slums," a parent said.

But many are in favour. "It is good and bringing up a society is everybody's responsibility. There is no better way to achieve it than equitable education," said Kiran, a resident of Dugri.

Harneet Singh, a teacher at Sat Paul Mittal School, laws is created but what matters is the implementation of it. "It is going to be a challenge for the school and teachers about how to assimilate people from economically weaker sections into the classes, as it would engender inferiority complex in them," he said. "Then they would be prone to discrimination by their well-off batch mates and these could rather have psychological implications for children of both the sections," he said.

"It would be the responsibility of schools and teachers to counsel the children so that there would be acceptance on both sides and no groupism develops," he said. Not only children, but also counselling of parents would also be required, so that they understand and have a sympathetic attitude towards children from all sections of the society.

Prabhjeet Kaur, an English teacher at Guru Nanak International School agrees saying that disparity between the backgrounds of the children would have to be managed with care. "There would be differences in educational setup because of the differences in the familial backgrounds," she said. The teachers would have to balance it out, said another teacher.

A principal of private school said that they would need more counsellors and psychologists to deal with the issues of equality. "It is not an easy process and it would take 15-20 years for completely becoming a regular system after generations from both the sections have become used to of the system," said Singh.

The trials were conducted to select and enrol the under-19 players to its Regional Coaching Centre (RCC).

The centre is being run by the LDCA under the patronage of Punjab Cricket Association.

The selection panel comprises Chaman Lal Malhotra, Sham Lal, Ankur Kakkar, Pawan Pandey, Dinesh Puri and Naresh Marwaha. The list of selected boys will be released tomorrow. The Ludhiana district team for the upcoming Punjab State Inter-District Cricket Championship for the Dhruve Pandove Trophy will be finalised from these probables.

This was told by the LDCA honorary general secretary, Vinod Chitkara. The championship will be oragnised by the Punjab Cricket Association.